To help its dealers provide greater transparency and stimulate used-car buyer confidence — and thus, hopefully, generate sales — FordDirect revealed Tuesday that its website and the roughly 3,500 dealer sites built via its DealerConnection program now offer AutoCheck vehicle history reports from Experian Automotive on all used models for sale.   [Read More]

The Federal Reserve rattled off several negative economy assessments Tuesday but decided to keep the federal funds interest rate at its current level.   The Federal Open Market Committee chose to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 0.25 percent. Officials noted that they continue to anticipate that economic conditions, […] [Read More]

Donlen is teaming up with the Environmental Defense Fund and GreenDriver for a Clinton Global Initiative Commitment to Action project that is aiming for a 20-percent cut in commercial fleet emissions over the next five years.   The “Commercial Fleet 20 Percent GHG Emissions Reduction” project officially debuted Tuesday at the 2010 CGI Annual Meeting in […] [Read More]

Move over, fellas. When it comes to the under-30 crowd, the luxury market is seeing a greater number of female drivers than males, according to LeaseTrader.com.   In fact, more than half (about 51.2 percent) of females younger than 30 who use the site have a luxury ride. Five years ago, just 42.6 percent could […] [Read More]

Fiat recently announced that automotive industry veteran Andrea Formica has been named head of the Fiat brand. He will also be in charge of Chrysler brands in Europe. He replaces Lorenzo Sistino, who will head international operations. According to management, Formica has a wealth of experience gained at Ford and Toyota. Formica will also head […] [Read More]

The National Insurance Crime Bureau’s theft study discovered the 10 most stolen vehicles throughout the nation.   The Hot Wheels 2010 study identified the following vehicles as the most often stolen:   1. 1994 Honda Accord   2. 1995 Honda Civic   3. 1991 Toyota Camry   4. 1997 Ford F-150 Pickup   5. 2004 […] [Read More]

Dealer Services Corp. of Indiana announced it has selected Learn.com to deliver and track employee training.   The company points to this new platform as one of its latest investments designed to enhance customer service.   [Read More]

Ford’s annual look at U.S. vehicle-buying preferences revealed favorites are sometimes connected to local sports teams and weather conditions, but some surprising trends still came to light.   For example, Ford indicated it sold the most red-colored vehicles in Cincinnati — home of the Cincinnati Reds baseball team — and the most units with molten […] [Read More]

Black Book announced Monday it has introduced myUsedCar for Droid. The new app, available through the Android Market, is engineered specifically to maximize speed and ease of use, according to management. myUsedCar features include four market-driven Black Book vehicle values for more than 18,000 vehicles spanning the last 15 model years; value adjustments for mileage […] [Read More]

Along with extending center hours, Manheim hopes to streamline its customer-service efforts by creating a single, toll-free phone number for all requests.   Effective immediately, customers can dial (866) MANHEIM or (866) 626-4346 for access to the Manheim Customer Care staff for personalized service.   [Read More]